NAOYA NOMURA – ACE OF CAPTURE
I don’t know if this belongs in an article like this or a news update but it doesn’t matter because in any case we must talk about the fact that Naoya Nomura has left one of the most well known promotions in the world to fight bastards in a basement for Koki Kitahara’s viewing pleasure. The word ‘based’ gets thrown around too much now but by all means this is based. We all thought Nomura was leaving All Japan to retire and be one of the greats that got away from the sport but good lord did anyone expect Nomura to become the poster boy for Capture in the year 2022? Us few international Capture fans were wondering what the heck has been going on but thankfully after a multi year absence Capture is back and better than ever. Booking all your favourites like Takuya Nomura, Takahiro Tababa, Super Crafter-U, Mizuki Watase, Rikiya Fudo, Daisuke Kanehira. Hiroshi Yamato and many more! The reviews I was hearing from their March return event were very positive, I’m yet to check out the show myself due to my computer shitting the bed but I can’t wait to watch. They’ve already announced a card for their next show in May and our boy Naoya Nomura will be facing Hiroshi Yamato in a singles match which should be electric. Hiroshi Yamato does a lot of Jiu Jitsu training and is very fluid on the mat, he is most known for his flashy high flying but don’t sleep on Yamato’s ground game. You can follow Capture on twitter, so far Capture is the only place Nomura has shown up in so if you are an All Japan fan wondering what Nomura is now doing then I recommend following Capture.
MINEO FUJITA’S PRE WMF WORLD
We know that Mineo Fujita would go onto join WMF as a trainee to learn under Mr. Gannosuke but where exactly was Mineo at before WMF? He had the want to wrestle from a very young age and once in high school he would decide that he 100% wanted to grow up to be a professional wrestler. He was the smallest in his class so whilst still in high school he began to workout and also attend classes at the Animal Hamiguchi training gym.
Once graduating high school he would pass the introductory tests for Michinoku Pro in April of 2000 but his tenure wasn’t long as he would unexpectedly leave the dojo just weeks into his stay. A year later in 2001 he would try his hand at wrestling again as he would pass the introductory tests for Osaka Pro, he was the only one selected out of fifteen potential trainee’s but just a month into his stay at the Osaka Pro dojo he would once again up and leave abruptly. Another 18 months pass and in August of 2002 he passes the necessary tests to join the WMF dojo and the rest is history, thankfully Mineo stuck it out with WMF because he has a handy resume of fun Junior matches over multiple decades now.
DRAGON SOLDIER LAW… GREAT DUDE
Now I’m not saying this from personal experience because I can guarantee you I haven’t sat down with DSL himself to discuss his qualities but from afar I can say he looks like a genuinely good fella. On top of getting burnt by a Survival Tobita flame thrower and fighting Kenny Omega through the streets of Tokyo, Dragon Soldier LAW did the work and became a psychologist. According to DSL he works extensively in the mental health field which is rarity for those in Japan as it has been well documented that the Japanese have severely lacked a proper mental health system for like ever I guess. There’s places to drink alcohol everywhere you look in Tokyo but try finding a psychologist or someone to talk to you about your issues. In recent years I really hope things have improved but for as long as I can remember among Japanese culture it is quite frowned upon to open up about personal issues as it’s perceived as being weak. I’ve watched my fair share of documentaries from Japan whether that be covering stories from the suicide forest or mental health in general and they’ve all been astoundingly frightening watches. In Australia where I am and a lot of other Western countries there are endless resources for those struggling with mental illness but we often forget how privileged and lucky we are to have those resources so readily available. It’s not much but I just want to shout out Dragon Soldier LAW for choosing to work in the mental health field, keep doing your thing my guy!
OSAMU NAMIGUCHI UPDATE
Fans of 2000’s ZERO1 would be all too familiar with Mr. Namiguchi as he was integral part of their Junior division during his eight year tenure for the promotion. In 2009 he retired in a match against Kintaro Kanemura then left ZERO1 but only a few months later he would come out of retirement for Fugo Fugo Yumeji’s EXIT promotion. He would freelance through promotions like NOAH, New Japan and Ganbare pro but the last few years he has stayed very very low key working rarely for promotions like Fukumen Mania, HEAT-UP and Taiyo Pro. Since last year he has aligned himself with the StandUP group which is a subsidiary of P.P.P Tokyo. Joji Otani, Masayuki Mitomi and Bambi are the people behind StandUP. I don’t have the links handy but I’m fairly certain StandUP show have made their way online in recent times, if you’re still interested in Osamu Namiguchi then that’s the only place you’re going to see him as he’s only worked five matches since their inception in August of 2021. Namiguchi is only 41 and still moves very well so I hope to see him wrestle for a few bigger indies soon, a random GLEAT appearance would do the trick.
KURISU GYM ALUMNI
Quick list of talents that underwent training at the Masanobu Kurisu gym for those that weren’t already aware. He started his gym in Osaka in 1989. “Kurisu Gym” held something like 50 shows, I have a couple shows and they aren’t anything special but it’s very cool to see the likes of Kuishinobu Kamen and Kenji Fukimoto before they had names. Here’s a list of a few names you might not have known were trained by the legend known as Masanobu Kurisu.
Kojo Kanemoto
Kenji Fukimoto
Shigeo Okumura
Akira Rajin/SUSHI
Takafumi Ito
Ikuto Hidaka
Hiroaki Moriya
Kurokage
Mitsonobu Kikuzawa
Riki Sensyu
Momoe Nakanishi
PURO IN THE ROUGH 